Phil Pressey: Should he have started sooner?

I'm of the mindset that Pressey could've been starting, or at the very least playing more minutes.



KJ

I voted for #1.  Crawford was the starting point guard.  Pressey was brand-spanking new.  Throwing him straight to the wolves would have been unconstructive.  He now has a half a season under his belt and can get some more minutes.  That's still a long way from being ready for prime time.


bob


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I voted twice, No #1 and No #2.

Phil Pressey wasn't even drafted. Danny Ainge signed a undrafted rookie who not only got rotation minutes in his first year, but also got to start one game. I imagine that Rondo will start, but maybe Pressey can still get PG minutes off the bench.

I agree with bobh that he wasn't ready to run the team at the beginning of the season.

He still cannot shoot, but hopefully he can work on that during the off season.

gyso

Remember how the teams lagged of Rondo and played him for the pass couple years ago.

Ditto X 2 with Pressey. won't take a team long to figure out he can't shoot.

beat

Crawford was the better choice. Some playmaking skills sacrificed in return for a broader offensive arsenal and a much taller defensive guard. I'd rather have Pressey playing against second-line opponents because I'm concerned experienced opponents will sag off him, playing for the pass—the opposite of what I believe is happening with Avery Bradley when he goes to the hoop.

Sam

I think Pressey should have been given more minutes before. The only way to gain experience is to actually play. Considering the way the season has gone, didn't seem like there was much to really lose by playing him more. Who knows, perhaps there would've been more uptempo play.



KJ

In retrospect it becomes clear that hindsight is definitely overrated!
 
ALFRED E. NEUMAN, Mad Magazine

KJ, there actually could be a lot to lose depending on the selection of the PG. While none of us expects much from the Celtics in terms of playoffs, etc., it is still supposed to be a year of development. A point guard's development must be viewed a little differently than others on the team because the PG has a major bearing on how all four other players on the court develop—at least on offense.

My guess is that Brad's reasons for selecting Crawford over Pressey included:

• Crawford's ability to take some of the scoring load off the other players in addition to distributing the ball reasonably well (as witness the number of assists he accumulated).

• Crawford's fearlessness in the stretch portions of games. He may have bricked some shots or made poor shot selections (although I personally feel the latter was an overinflated artifact of ancient history). But at least he had the guts and experience not to wilt when the going got tough.

I don't believe Pressey would have begun to duplicate those two elements as a rookie on a team disorganized enough to scream for a veteran presence at the PG position. And his woeful shooting could easily have frustrated him so much that the rest of his game would suffer.

At least Pressey has now gone through a baptism of sorts and shouldn't have a deer-in-the-headlights look as he hopefully continues to develop in the future. The last game was certainly a good start.

Sam

Sam,

I certainly wouldn't suggest him starting much earlier would've been more beneficial. But I think that he should have started seeing more play time in December at the very least to gain reps.

There were games where the team really had trouble with ball movement and tempo, I feel like Pressey's particular skillset could have been used a bit more.

This team seems to act like a gauge, and their play varies depending on the overall level the gauge is at; ex. Low morale = bad losses, high morale = more competitive games/some more victories.

This prior losing streak was damaging in that it somewhat eroded away the effort guys were putting in. If they felt they couldn't win, they wouldn't play their best game.



KJ